Knife Edge Finish to Tomes Cup presented by zerorh+ 1 March 2014

March 1, 2014 - PRLog -- With winds softening throughout the day, this year’s Tomes Cup, presented by zerorh+ was a sedate affair in a 5 to 6kt south easterly, with 58 boats taking to the water in pursuit of one of RHKYC’s oldest perpetual trophies, engraved as the ‘Sugar Refiners’ Cup’ and first presented in 1880.

Tomes Cup operates on staggered starts for one-design boats, based on an in-club ‘RHKATI’ rating, with two minute intervals covering specific rating bands. Race officer Gareth Williams and his team were on the water early to select Course 6 and set up for a Hung Hom start.

After a lap and a half to Tai Koo Shing, Pandora Solstice was holding on to a presentable lead over Ruffian Buster with the Flying Fifteens and Impalas making ground fast, The fleet completed their downwind leg to Dock Buoy then entered a series of short triangles to take them towards the target finish time of 1630hrs.

With Solstice clinging on to the front and Buster breathing down her transom at Gate Buoy, several other classes were moving rapidly up the fleet including sportsboat Chrisargo, Flying Fifteen Tchaikoffsky and the Etchells class. In the light breeze, it was a surprise to see a knife edge finish, with Buster overcoming Solstice in the final metres to take first place and Chrisargo taking third.

It wasn’t the best day for the Big Boats, with Ambush the first to finish, six minutes off the pace in 13^th place. The remaining boats wended their way home in due course and, with no protests to be heard, a busy prizegiving, supported by Veuve Cliquot and Stella Artois, took place on the RHKYC Main Lawn.